A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"It tastes like milk!" a little girl exclaimed happily as she munched on her bread.

"Eat slowly, and I'll get you some water from the church if you want some," Father Thun said kindly, patting the child's head.

"Father! What is the use of the 'Old Man of the Lamp'?!" Suddenly, a child rubbed his eyes and raised his hand to ask.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly interested in this today?"

"Because everyone on the street is talking about 'Children of Light' and stuff like that, which I completely don't understand."

“Father, is that ‘Old Man of the Guiding Light’ the same?!”

"Why would a priest worship this 'beacon of light'?"

The other children also looked at Father Thun with curiosity.

Why would a priest choose this uncommon faith?

"Haha, so many questions." Father Thun showed no impatience whatsoever, but instead chuckled.

"Shall I answer them one by one?"

“Okay!” the children said in unison.

"The 'Guiding Elder' is of no use to me at all."

“He has neither given me magic nor bestowed the gospel upon me,” Father Thun said calmly, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist.

The bracelet was a symbol of the "Guiding Lamp Elder" faith, a metal ring with a unique pattern inside.

"But I have never believed in Him without these reasons."

"I just think His teachings are good."

"Guide others, solve their problems, and be their guiding light," Thun said softly.

This point seems to be mentioned in other faiths as well, but they are not the same in essence.

The teachings of the "Guiding Elder" are purely about guiding others and helping lost people find their way back.

Not a single word is intended to convert the lost, and the doctrine does not say that those who guide others will receive any gospel.

People who believe in religion seek solace or prayer.

However, the "Old Man of the Beacon" does not bring these things to believers.

That's why this belief is so unpopular.

“However, this doctrine is perfect for those who don’t have their own goals but want to protect the dreams of others,” Father Thun said with a smile.

"I don't really understand," a child said vaguely, tilting his head and munching on bread.

“You don’t need to understand now. You will understand someday,” Father Thun said, shaking his head slightly. “Alright, go sleep in the church backyard,” Father Thun said.

Although the priest did not adopt the children, providing them with a dinner and a place to sleep at night was enough for them.

At least in the hearts of these children, the church has long been a safe haven.

"Father, are you going to exercise again?" a child tugged at the priest's clothes.

"Oh, yes."

Why do you have to exercise every day?

"Yes, why?" The priest simply patted the child's head without giving a serious answer.

Beneath the priest's clothes lay a body covered in wounds; it was hard to imagine how he had trained to become like this.

Every evening, Father Thun would choose to exercise.

Well, nobody knows the specifics of the training.

"Father, it looks like a lot of people are walking towards the church," the child said, shrinking back as the priest stroked his hair.

"A lot of people?" Father Thun squinted and looked in the direction the child was pointing.

There were about fifty people, all of whom were armed with sophisticated weapons.

Thun had been in Midtown for quite some time, and without much thought, he understood the intentions of these people.

Land in Midtown is quite valuable.

In order to acquire land, some wealthy people sometimes resort to despicable means.

One of the most common tactics is to hire adventurers to threaten landowners.

Thun glanced at the small church behind him.

This little church looks like it's easy to bully. If those businessmen take over the church's land, they'll probably make a fortune.

Thun has experienced this more than once, ever since he was very young.

"Hey, you're the priest of this dilapidated church, right?" one of the leading adventurers asked, looking at Thun with hostility.

“Someone wants you to give up this church.” The leading adventurer took a drag of his cigarette.

"I guess you know what I'm talking about, right?"

“I know.” Father Thun nodded gently.

"See the number of people behind me? We'd like to discuss this further with you later."

“I guess you’ll understand better by then.” The leading adventurer was somewhat annoyed by Father Thun’s calmness.

At least he had a group of D-rank adventurers and quite a few C-rank adventurers behind him.

Such a force is terrifying.

The big boss behind this church spent a fortune.

“That’s enough, it seems there’s nothing more to say.” Father Thun flicked the bracelet on his left wrist.

"Children, let's go inside the church; it's late."

"Okay~"

"Huh? Have you figured out the situation?" The leader's expression was strange.

The adventurers behind them were already eager to try.

You should know that any adventurer who takes on this kind of job is definitely not a good person.

Admittedly, Father Thun's faith did not include the punishment of sin.

But—

"Are you all going to come at me together, or one at a time?" Father Thun asked, then lightly kissed the bracelet.

Night had already fallen, but today, it seemed unlikely that I would be able to exercise as usual.

That's a real shame.

---

The sun rises again, and it's a new day.

"Why are there so many people lying in front of this church?" A passerby looked in surprise at the adventurers lying haphazardly on the ground.

None of these adventurers escaped with injuries.

However, they only fainted; no one died.

"Father, good morning. What's wrong with these people?" a citizen who had come to the priest for treatment asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” Father Thun shook his head.

Father Thun is now calmly sweeping the dust in front of the church, and is also planning to mop up the bloodstains.

He had no intention of telling anyone the whole story, because even if he did, no one could help him.

We can only protect this church with our own hands.

Driven by profit, no matter how many times those businessmen were thwarted, they would always find new ways to build this small chapel.

It's really annoying.

“Excuse me, Father, besides treatment, is it possible to confide in someone here?” a woman asked tentatively.

“Of course,” Father Thun said with a gentle smile.

But at that moment, another voice rang out.

He was an adventurer leading a young girl.

"Can this be healed with divine magic?" Bray's voice was somewhat weak.

“I don’t possess divine magic, but I am confident in my healing spells.” Father Thun sized up Bray.

"Come into the church, adventurer. Your internal injuries are too severe." Father Thun easily saw through Bray's problem.

"Um, thank you," Bray replied after a moment's hesitation.

His physical condition was immediately apparent.

"I'll thank you after I'm healed," Father Thun waved his hand.

"Sir, and madam, please wait a moment. This adventurer is seriously injured."

"I understand, I can wait." The citizen, who had originally planned to seek medical treatment, chuckled.

“Me too, I’m not in a hurry,” the woman quickly replied.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Father Thun said gratefully, placing his hand on his chest.

“Adventurer, come with me.” Thun beckoned to Bray.

Bray said nothing and followed.

The local residents recommended this church, since Bree had never been to the capital before and didn't know which place was cheap and good.

In the words of passersby, it's absolutely conscientious, and the treatment is very effective, far surpassing those cathedrals.

It's just not very famous; most of the people who come to this church are ordinary people.

Looking at the shabby church, Bray could understand why it wasn't famous.

Seeing what a church looks like might make people subconsciously think it's unreliable, and then they wouldn't even bother to try it.

“Brave, this guy is a good person.” Rarely, Levy wagged her tail at the stranger.

"Really? He's a good person." Bray ruffled Levy's hair and chuckled.

“For organ damage, healing with magic or divine arts is much more effective,” Father Thun sighed.

“Ordinary medications are unlikely to cure it,” Father Thun added.

“Incredible, the pain has been relieved so much,” Bray exclaimed.

"That would be great."

"However, you are not fully recovered yet, so please do not do strenuous exercise."

"Also, remember to come again tomorrow."

"Even if I used healing magic, it would be impossible to recover from such a serious injury all at once."

“One more treatment and he will be fully recovered,” Father Thun told Bray.

“Thank you, Father.” Bray nodded.

"How much?" Bray asked.

"Well, please give me 5G, since this treatment doesn't cost much." If bandages are needed, Father Thun would calculate the cost of the bandages.

The priest was still quite frugal where he needed to be.

Bray paused for a moment, then pulled a coin out of his pocket.

“Thank you, you’re a wonderful priest,” Bray said, handing over the coin.

"Let's meet tomorrow, adventurer."

Bray did not prevent Father Thun from continuing to serve others, and left voluntarily.

After Bray led Levy out of the church, he couldn't help but look back a few more times.

The effects of this healing spell are truly terrifying. Because he had previously received treatment with low-level healing spells, Bray had learned about healing spells afterward.

Healing spells are highly dependent on the caster's skill level. Even advanced healing spells can be many times more effective when cast by a skilled practitioner.